Fracture behavior of an interface crack in a magnetoelectric sandwich structure under electric field: Effects of the poling directions

Magnetoelectric (ME) sandwich structure is a common form in device applications. Poling directions of component materials are essential for the improvement of ME device properties. In this paper, the effects of the electric and magnetic poling directions on the interface fracture of a ME sandwich structure are investigated by integral transform and singular integral equation techniques. The expressions of the normalized stress intensity factors (NSIFs) are derived, and some numerical examples are presented. It is found that the poling direction of active layer can greatly affect the interface cracking mode. And the crack propagation can be promoted or impeded by adjusting the applied field. The structure with a larger volume fraction of active material will be more likely to crack.

Riemann–Hilbert approach-based analytical solutions for strip saturated two unequal collinear cracks in piezoelectric media

The objective of the work is to derive analytical solutions based on the Riemann–Hilbert (R–H) approach for semipermeable strip saturated two unequal collinear cracks in arbitrary polarized piezoelectric media. We particularly consider the influence of far field electromechanical loadings, poling direction and different crack-face boundary conditions. The problem is mathematically formulated into a set of non-homogeneous R–H problems in terms of complex potential functions (related to field components) using complex variable and extended Stroh formalism approach. After solving these equations, explicit solutions are obtained for the involved unknown complex potential functions and hence, the stress and electric displacement components at any point within the domain. Furthermore, after employing standard limiting conditions, explicit expressions for some conventional fracture parameters such as saturated zone lengths (in terms of nonlinear equations), local stress intensity factors and crack opening displacement are obtained. Numerical studies are presented for the PZT-4H material to analyze the effects of prescribed electromechanical loadings, inter-cracks distance, crack-face conditions and poling direction on the defined fracture parameters.

Electromechanical response of multilayered piezoelectric BaTiO3/PZT-7A composites with wavy architecture

Electromechanical laminated composites with piezoelectric phases are increasingly being explored as multifunctional materials providing energy conversion between electric and mechanical energies. The current work explores thus-far undocumented combined microstructural effects of amplitude-to-wavelength ratio, volume fraction, poling direction of piezoelectric phases on both the homogenized properties and localized stress/electric field distributions in multilayered configurations under fully coupled electro-mechanical loading. In particular, the Multiphysics Finite-Volume Direct Averaging Micromechanics (FVDAM) and its counterpart, an in-house micromechanical multiphysics finite-element model, are utilized to investigate the homogenized and localized responses of wavy multilayered piezoelectric BaTiO3/PZT-7A architectures. These two methods generate highly agreeable results. Moreover, we critically examine the convergence of the finite-volume and finite element-based approaches via the Average Stress Theorem and Average Electric Displacement Theorem. The comparison shows the finite volume-based approach possesses a better numerical convergence. This study illustrates the FVDAM’s ability toward the analysis and design of engineered multilayered piezoelectric materials with wavy architecture.

Electrothermal Phenomena in Ferroelectrics

Physical properties of lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) ceramics change according to the initial electric poling process and electrical boundary conditions. This paper reports the electrothermal, piezothermal, and piezoelectric coupling phenomena in ferroelectrics from thermodynamics viewpoints, in particular, thermal property differences between unpoled and poled PZT’s in the poling direction for open circuit and short circuit conditions. We propose a new terminology, “secondary electrothermal” coupling factor kλ, which is analogous to the electromechanical coupling factor k, relating the elastic compliances under short- and open-circuit conditions, in order to explain the fact that the short-circuit condition exhibited the larger thermal diffusivity than the open-circuit condition. On the other hand, the unpoled specimen exhibits the lowest thermal diffusivity. This tutorial paper was authored for providing comprehensive knowledge on equilibrium and time-dependent thermodynamics in ferroelectrics.

Active vibration control of smart structure using poling tuned piezoelectric material

In this article, active vibration control of a piezo laminated smart structure is presented using poling tuned piezoelectric material. To improve the performance of existing materials and utilize the actuation potential of different modes of operation ( d31, d33, and d15), simultaneously, the poling direction of the piezoelectric materials is altered and an optimum poling direction is found. Poling tuned piezoelectric patches at the top and bottom layers of the structure are mounted which act as sensors and actuators, respectively. The computational technique used for calculating the time history of the structure is a finite element method. A fuzzy logic controller is developed to compute the appropriate actuator signal as output while taking sensor voltage and its derivative as input. The controlled response due to this fuzzy logic controller is calculated for different piezoelectric materials under consideration and the performance of these materials in active vibration control is compared. Influence of poling angle on the controlled response of the structure is scrutinized and is found to vary from material to material. A large enhancement due to poling tuning is seen in the properties of Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.35PbTiO3 (PMN-0.35PT), whereas other materials show very less improvement or even decay in the properties.

Thermal Conductivities of PZT Piezoelectric Ceramics under Different Electrical Boundary Conditions

<p>Physical properties of polycrystalline lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) changes according to electrical boundary conditions and poling. This paper reports the thermal properties of poled and unpoled PZT's in the poling direction for open circuit and short circuit conditions. The authors found that the short-circuit condition exhibited the largest thermal conductivity than the open-circuit condition. In the relationship between these two thermal properties, the authors propose the "electrothermal" coupling factor k^κ₃₃, which is similar to the electromechanical coupling factor k₃₃ relating the elastic compliances under short- and open-circuit conditions. On the other hand, the thermal conductivity of the unpoled specimen exhibits the lowest thermal conductivity, in comparison with the poled specimens, which suggests the importance of phonon mode scattering on the thermal conductivity with respect to elastic compliance.</p>

Extension–torsion–inflation coupling in compressible electroelastomeric thin tubes

We present an axisymmetric and axially homogeneous variational formulation to obtain coupled extension–torsion–inflation deformation in compressible electroelastomeric tubes in the presence of axial and radial electric fields. We show that such deformations occur under the following two conditions: (1) only the axial electric field is imposed, with the electric poling direction in the tube (if present) lying in the radial plane; and (2) only the radial electric field is imposed within the tube, with the electric poling direction (if present) also along the radial direction. The poling direction in condition (1) generates helical anisotropy in the tube. We then obtain the governing differential equations necessary to solve the above deformation problem for thick tubes. We further apply the thin tube limit to obtain simplified algebraic equations to solve the same deformation problem. The effect of applied electric field parameters on the extension–inflation coupling and induced internal pressure vs. imposed inflation behavior is finally presented through numerical solution of the above obtained algebraic equations. The study will be useful in designing soft electroelastic tubular actuators.

Enhanced pyroelectric and piezoelectric properties of PZT with aligned porosity for energy harvesting applications

This paper demonstrates the significant benefits of exploiting highly aligned porosity in piezoelectric and pyroelectric materials for improved energy harvesting performance. Porous lead zirconate (PZT) ceramics with aligned pore channels and varying fractions of porosity were manufactured in a water-based suspension using freeze casting. The aligned porous PZT ceramics were characterized in detail for both piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties and their energy harvesting performance figures of merit were assessed parallel and perpendicular to the freezing direction. As a result of the introduction of porosity into the ceramic microstrucutre, high piezoelectric and pyroelectric harvesting figures of merits were achieved for porous freeze-cast PZT compared to dense PZT due to the reduced permittivity and volume specific heat capacity. Experimental results were compared to parallel and series analytical models with good agreement and the PZT with porosity aligned parallel to the freezing direction exhibited the highest piezoelectric and pyroelectric harvesting response; this was a result of the enhanced interconnectivity of the ferroelectric material along the poling direction and reduced fraction of unpoled material that leads to a higher polarization. A complete thermal energy harvesting system, composed of an parallel-aligned PZT harvester element and an AC/DC converter successfully demonstrated by charging a storage capacitor. The maximum energy density generated by the 60 vol.% porous parallel-connected PZT when subjected to thermal oscillations was 1653 μJ/cm3 respectively, which was 374% higher than that of the dense PZT with an energy density of 446 μJ/cm3. The results are of benefit for the design and manufacture of high performance porous pyroelectric and piezoelectric materials in devices for energy harvesting and sensor applications.